Helping hands, thankful hearts

Olinda, a volunteer with the Southern Alberta Restoration Project, shares her experience of helping a family in High River repair their damaged home.

“The family’s basement wall had broken in from the force of water and silt,” Olinda said.

The cause? Torrential rainfall and melting snow last summer, which caused rivers to overflow their banks and flood communities across southern Alberta.

That’s why—coordinated by the Southern Alberta Restoration Project—Olinda and a crew of volunteers helped repair the flood-damaged home. They built a frost wall around the basement to protect the house from cold, and repaired the back porch.

“We were thanked so many times each day by the homeowners,” Olinda said. “They couldn’t believe that people would do all this work for them!”

Along with practical help, the volunteers were also able to provide emotional support as the couple shared about the stress they had experienced as a result of the disaster.

“We sat with them and were able to pray with them,” Olinda said. “It was hard to leave when the week was done.”